Royal Military College in England Installs 60 Seats of SolidWorks

The Royal Military College of Science, SolidWorks
(July 16, 2001)

The Royal Military College of Science, a faculty at Cranfield University in England, will use 60 seats of SolidWorks Corporation's three-dimensional computer-aided design (3D CAD) software to teach students how to create "real-life" 3D solid models for both military and civilian applications, SolidWorks announced today. With SolidWorks Toolbox, and 60 seats of SolidWorks 2001, the Royal Military College will teach undergraduates the technology quickly, so they spend more of their time designing in 3D instead of learning how to use CAD software. This accelerated learning curve gives them valuable hands-on experience for their professional and military careers.

"We have a limited amount of time during an academic term to teach students CAD, and we have to get to a point where they are up and running with the software and creating designs quickly," said Dr. Stuart McGuigan, director of Engineering Design at the Royal Military College. "SolidWorks has a much faster learning curve than some other 3D CAD software and it has all of the capabilities our students will need to learn how to generate compelling solid models."

The Royal Military College educates and trains all British Army officers. The college purchased SolidWorks 2001 for teaching 3D CAD technology to all undergraduate engineering students beginning this autumn. The college will also incorporate the use of SolidWorks Toolbox in its courses because it provides students with design automation and drafting annotation tools, as well as time-saving access to a wide variety of standard components to help them design products faster.

The college has also purchased two commercial seats of SolidWorks 2001 for its consultancy operation, designing both military and commercial products for companies around the world. For example, the consultancy will use SolidWorks to design a cylinder head for a diesel motorcycle for a California-based company. The college had been teaching another CAD system to its students, but switched to SolidWorks because of its Windows(r)-native, easy-to-learn and easy-to-use interface. In conjunction with SolidWorks 2001 and SolidWorks Toolbox, the college will use COSMOS/Works from Structural Research & Analysis Corporation (www.cosmosm.com) to conduct load analyses of different elements in a design. It will also use Mechanical Dynamics, Inc.'s Dynamic Designer (www.designtechnologies.com) to simulate the design mechanisms created in SolidWorks.

"Royal Military College students have plenty to think about between their education, their military training, and life after college or the Army," said Simon Booker, SolidWorks' U.K. and Ireland sales and marketing manager. "College students can't spend half of their class time just learning how to use CAD software before they can even begin designing something. SolidWorks eliminates a lengthy, arduous learning curve so students can actually design products faster than with other CAD tools, and start developing the design skills they will need in their professional careers."

For more information about SolidWorks: www.solidworks.com or call 1-800-693-9000 (outside of North America, call +1-978-371-5000).